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Trump’s Cabinet So Far Is More White and Male Than Any First Cabinet Since Reagan’s

President Trump’s cabinet is shaping up to have a smaller percentage of women and nonwhites than the first cabinets of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush.

If Mr. Trump’s remaining nominees are confirmed, women and nonwhites will hold six of 24 cabinet or cabinet-level positions. This includes R. Alexander Acosta, Mr. Trump’s second nominee for labor secretary. Mr. Acosta would be the only Hispanic member of Mr. Trump’s cabinet.

“Donald Trump is rolling back the clock on diversity in the cabinet,” said Paul Light, a professor at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Number of white men in the first cabinet of each president

Donald J. Trump

18

Barack Obama

&nbsp8

George W. Bush

11

Bill Clinton

10

George Bush

12

Ronald Reagan

17

Donald J. Trump

18

Barack Obama

8

George W. Bush

11

Bill Clinton

10

George Bush

12

Ronald Reagan

17

Those six members will also be in some of the lowest-ranking positions. None of them are in the so-called inner cabinet, the four positions in place since George Washington’s presidency: the attorney general and the secretaries of state, Treasury and defense (formerly called the secretary of war).

The cabinet members below are listed in order of presidential succession. The inner cabinet comes after the vice president, House speaker and president pro tempore of the Senate.

The first cabinets of each president

Inner cabinet

Not in presidential succession

Donald J. Trump

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession →

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

Barack Obama

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

George W. Bush

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

Bill Clinton

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

George Bush

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

Ronald Reagan

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Not in presidential succession

Cabinet members listed in order of presidential succession

Trump

Obama

W.Bush

Clinton

Bush

Reagan

Inner cabinet

Not in presidential succession

Inner cabinet

Note: The Department of Homeland Security was not created until 2003, during George W. Bush’s presidency, and the Department of Veterans Affairs did not exist in its current form until George Bush’s presidency. Cabinet-level positions have changed over time. For all presidents except for Mr. Trump, the first confirmed person in each position is shown.

Some positions, such as the United Nations ambassador and the Office of Management and Budget director, are given cabinet-level rank by individual presidents but are not traditionally considered part of the cabinet.

Historically, white women were named to inner-cabinet positions before nonwhite men and women. Madeleine K. Albright served as secretary of state during Mr. Clinton’s second term, and Janet Reno served as attorney general during both of his terms.

The first black person to run the State Department was Colin L. Powell in 2001. Eric H. Holder Jr., nominated by Mr. Obama in 2009, was the first black attorney general.

“Secretary of Treasury and secretary of defense have never been a woman or a person of color,” said Anne O’Connell, professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. Mr. Trump’s choices continue that pattern.

Number of women and minorities in the first cabinet of each president

Nonwhite women

White women

Nonwhite men

Donald J. Trump

&nbsp6

Barack Obama

14

George W. Bush

&nbsp9

Bill Clinton

12

George Bush

&nbsp5

Ronald Reagan

&nbsp2

Donald J. Trump

6

Barack Obama

14

George W. Bush

9

Bill Clinton

12

George Bush

5

Ronald Reagan

2

The few women and minorities in his cabinet occupy lower-ranking positions.

▪ Elaine L. Chao, who was selected to lead the Transportation Department, is from Taiwan. She previously served as secretary of labor during both terms of George W. Bush’s presidency.

▪ Betsy DeVos was chosen as secretary of education.

▪ Nikki R. Haley, who is of Indian heritage, is Mr. Trump’s pick for ambassador to the United Nations. She was previously the governor of South Carolina.

▪ Linda McMahon was chosen to run the Small Business Administration. She is the former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment.

▪ Ben Carson, who is black, was chosen to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

▪ R. Alexander Acosta, was chosen to lead the Labor Department, after Andrew F. Puzder withdrew his name from consideration in February. Mr. Acosta previously served as assistant attorney general for the civil rights division of the Justice Department.

Dr. Light, an expert on the presidential appointment process, said that having diversity in the cabinet became standard as nonwhites and women moved up the ranks in politics. “That happened over time, but presidents also became more sensitive to it,” he said.

The cabinet of President Obama in September 2009.The White House

The cabinet of President Ronald Reagan in February 1981.Ronald Reagan Library

During his first presidential campaign, Mr. Clinton said he would have a cabinet that “looks like America.” In the weeks before his inauguration, he was criticized by women’s organizations for not selecting women fast enough, but he ultimately appointed more women and African-Americans than his predecessors.

“They come from diverse backgrounds, and we will all be better and stronger for that diversity,” he said in 1992. “I can say with pride that I believe this cabinet and these other appointees represent the best in America.”

The first cabinets of George W. Bush and Mr. Obama were both noted for their diversity. In Mr. Bush’s initial administration, 45 percent of the cabinet and cabinet-level officials were women or nonwhite men. In Mr. Obama’s first cabinet, that figure was 64 percent.

Women in Cabinet Positions

Donald J. Trump

&nbsp4

Barack Obama

&nbsp7

George W. Bush

&nbsp4

Bill Clinton

&nbsp6

George Bush

&nbsp2

Ronald Reagan

&nbsp1

Donald J. Trump

4

Barack Obama

7

George W. Bush

4

Bill Clinton

6

George Bush

2

Ronald Reagan

1

Note: Includes cabinet-level positions.

The nation’s first female cabinet member was Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, who was chosen by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Since then, six more women have served as labor secretary, more than any other cabinet position. Mr. Obama, George W. Bush and George Bush all began their presidencies with women running the Labor Department.

Minorities in Cabinet Positions

Donald J. Trump

&nbsp4

Barack Obama

10

George W. Bush

&nbsp6

Bill Clinton

&nbsp8

George Bush

&nbsp3

Ronald Reagan

&nbsp1

Donald J. Trump

4

Barack Obama

10

George W. Bush

6

Bill Clinton

8

George Bush

3

Ronald Reagan

1

Note: Includes cabinet-level positions.

Norman Y. Mineta became the first Asian-American cabinet member when he ran the Commerce Department at the end of Mr. Clinton’s second term. He later served as secretary of transportation in George W. Bush’s first cabinet. Robert C. Weaver, who served under President Lyndon B. Johnson, became the first black cabinet member and the first-ever Housing and Urban Development secretary in 1966.

Sources: Department websites, The New York Times Almanac 2002, United States Government Manual, Congressional Research Service, Center for American Women and Politics, “Guide to the Presidency and the Executive Branch” by Michael Nelson